My Best Essays in 2024

As we head towards the end of the year, I thought it would be nice to recap some of my best writing from the past twelve months, in case you missed it.

I published 48 essays to the blog this year (plus another two for my Foundations project which will come out before year’s end). More significantly, this year also saw the publishing of my second book, Get Better at Anything, as well as the launch of my new course and project, Foundations.

Here are my favorite essays from 2024:

1. The 10,000 Hour Rule is a Myth. The common interpretation of this rule directly contradicts the research that was used to create it. But even more, the idea that a particular number of hours leads to achieving mastery is a kind of category error in thinking.
2. The Science of Mental Models. My review of Philip Johnson-Laird’s excellent book How We Reason explains how his theory of mental models reconciles how we can have science and philosophy, despite our frequent reasoning mistakes.
3. You’re Trying to Do Too Much. The difference between additive and subtractive productivity, and why the latter is underrated in our age of constant busyness.
4. The Universal Foundations for a Good Life. My essay introducing the idea of foundations—universal habits and skills that underpin a good life—that led to my current year-long project.
5. The Three Gaps. There are three gaps that exist between ideal conduct and our actual practice: between the best possible approach and what experts think is best; between what experts think is best and what everyday people think is best; and between what everyday people think is best and what they actually do. I argue that the third gap is perhaps the largest (and most stubborn) to close in most areas of our life.
6. Is Speaking Multiple Languages Overrated? I love learning languages. But is it better to spend more time mastering one language, or to dabble in a few? Here I present the case against my own bias towards polyglottism, arguing that most people are probably better off getting really good at a second language rather than adding a third, fourth (or seventh!).
7. The 6 Causes of Burnout (and How to Avoid It). A look at leading burnout researcher Christina Maslach’s work on the real reasons we burn out.
8. 5 Tips for Staying Focused (When You’re Stressed). A lot of readers told me this was their favorite essay in the past year, helping them cope with their own stresses. I give a brief primer on how stress impacts cognition, and offer some strategies drawn from various stress-reduction methodologies to cope.

I hope everyone enjoys the holidays!